'Lessons of Life'
Inspiration

Mallory is still growing, still learning, and still being transformed into a young lady quicker than seems possible. This is her first year playing tee ball, and without a doubt her Papa finds her excitement and enthusiasm priceless.

Along with all the joys that I see her experience, I also see her experience some of the less desirable realities of life. One of those is disappointment. Last week there was some confusion about when her Easter egg hunt at school was supposed to be. Somehow we thought it was to be Tuesday, so her mother had everything all set for the big day, and Mallory got up with less difficultythat morning than usual. Before I left, she told me all about the plans she had for the day with a merriment in her eye that is reserved especially for little girls when their imagination is operating at full throttle. All of that changed quickly when they got to school only to findthat Tuesday was not the day of the big event; it was to be Friday--a whole three days later! Talk about a look of disappointment, she had one with all the classic characteristics. Nevertheless, she was a good sport and survived the moment, and everything turned out fine.

As we know as adults and as she will findout, disappointments and other undesirable circumstances do not end at age five. I am 10 times her age and still having my share of let-downs in life. Some of them are the result of poor choices on my part, but many of them are simply an unavoidable anomaly of life. Yet at the same time many of them serve to build strength and character that could not be gained in an easy and painless way.

In the Book of James is recorded a statement about life that appears to contradict what we would like to believe about life: "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds" (1:2, NIV). If we single out that one verse and leave it to stand alone, it would be senseless, with nothing positive to contribute to successful living. But when the next verse is factored in, a whole different perspective can be gained regarding the difficulties of life that are faced with faith in Christ: "Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." Then verse four really clears up the picture: "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." So the key idea of facing the difficulties and disappointments in life as a Christian is not merely for our inconvenience, but for causing us to gain a fresh determination to stay the course of faith, so that we can become the mature Christians that God has called us to be. And maturity in the Christian faith means that we have reached a point where we can be really productive and pleasing to God in our service in His Kingdom.

It would have been nearly impossible to have convinced Mallory Tuesday morning during her moment of disappointment and disgust that she had just experienced another step in her walk toward maturity. As we strive toward spiritual maturity, rather than grumbling about those hard spots that God allows us to face, we would do well to recall that He might be using them to help us to grow up in Him so He can use us to serve Him more diligently than ever before.